West District XC Relays

Junior Relays
Young Females
Joanna Muir was the final leg of the Giffnock North team and was set off in 2nd place. However, she isn't 2009 Scottish Under 15 XC Champion for nothing and chased down Shettleston's Shannon McLellan to give the Giffnock team victory. Her 8:49 leg was the 3rd fastest of the day by a female.

Kathryn Park got the Nithsdale AC team off to a good start, finishing 35th in 10:44 on the Under 13 leg. Under 15 Danielle Beattie then produced a blistering run on the 2nd leg with 9:16. This was the 2nd fastest time of the 2nd leg and put the team up into 12th place. It was then up to Stephanie Lawrie to finish things off and she did so with a 10:01 leg, putting the team in 13th place.

Running for Shettleston Harriers D Team, Laura Penrice produced a fine run with 9:29 on the final leg. Having missed the trials for their teams, she should be in a better team by the National XC Relays. Her team finished 23rd.

Young Males
Nithsdale AC had two teams in this competiton. The A Team consisted of Angus Johnstone, Chris Ponton and late call up Glen Watson and the B Team consisted of Zack Stewart, Fraser White and Ryan Holmes.

On the first leg, 1st Year Under 13 Angus ran well to finish 15th in 9:00, while Zack, a newcomer to athletics was a decent 40th in 9:58.

The A Team moved up to 14th on the next leg, courtesy of Chris Ponton in 8:25. The B Team also moved up to 31st, thanks to Under 13 Fraser White who ran a very good 8:56.

Due to the absence of David Vernon, there was a lack of Under 17 athletes so sprinter Glen Watson and Under 15 Ryan Holmes stepped up to the mark. Glen struggled compared to the endurance athletes but hung on to finish 18th in a decent time of 9:04. Ryan, who like Fraser is a newcomer to athletics, ran very well in 8:32 to put the team up to 24th.

Senior/Junior Women
Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) produced a great run of 14:09 to push her VP-Glasgow team up to 4th place from 8th. This leg proved to be the 3rd fastest female time of the day and allowed Claire Mccracken to get the team into bronze medal position.

The Scottish National XC Relays will take place in Cumbernauld on the 24th October.

Update: European Junior Championships

European Junior Championships
Novi Sad, SRB

Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) had an eventful competition in her first championships in a GB vest.

Conditions were not great for the endurance athletes, with temperatures reaching the high 30s. She spent most of the time in 7th place, before moving up into the top 5. With 4 to qualify, she reeled in 4th place on the last lap and sprinted to take 3rd on the line in 10:27.31. However, the conditons took their toll, as Nicola collapsed on the track but was revived by ice packs and water.

"I sprinted at the end because I wasn't sure how close the fourth place girl was and I certainly didn't want to look back and check. It was just seconds off my PB so I'm disappointed but I'm also so pleased to be in the final. I'm ranked fifth in the rankings coming here so I would be aiming for a top 5 finish."

Her hopes were dashed in the final, however, following a fall but she battled on to finish 10th in 10:34.68.

SIAB International and Scottish CE Championships

SIAB International
Antrim
18/07/2009

Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC) finished in a disappointing 3rd place in the Shot, only managing a throw nearly a metre down on her best. She threw a best of 11.67m, well down on her 12.51m outdoor best. The top two throws were 12.17m and 11.93m respectively, distances that Kirsty is capable of managing. Kirsty will compete in the Celtic Games on the 1st August.

Scottish Combined Events Championships
Dunfermline
18/07/2009 - 19/07/2009

Kirsty would have been a contender, had she not been on international duty, so instead it was up to Jane Scott (Stewartry AC) and Carly McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) to fly the region's flag.

Jane competed in the Senior Women's Heptathlon. She started the day well with 15.72 in the 100m Hurdles, 0.19 seconds away from her PB. She then jumped a brilliant 1.57m PB in the HJ, placing 3= overall in the event. The came a weak event, the Shot Put. Jane managed a respectable 6.58m, a PB. The final event of the day was the 200m, where Jane finished 4th in 27.58, also a PB.

Carly finished Day 1 in 4th place overall in the Under 17 Women's Heptathlon after some good performances. She was 4th in the Hurdles with 14.58, 3= in the High Jump with 1.47m, 4th in the Shot with 6.61m and 4th in the 200m with a PB of 31.86.

Day Two began well for both athletes with PBs in the Long Jump. Jane finished 1st overall with a 5.62m leap, while Carly was 4th again with 4.16m. Next came the Javelin, a weaker event for both of them. Carly had the better throw with 16.73m PB. Jane also got a PB with 14.77m. Finally it was the 800m, another dreaded event for many heptathletes. Jane was 6th with 2:46.47 (PB), meaning she finished 5th in her competition with a PB of 3850 points. Carly was 3rd in her race with 2:56.67, and moved up to 3rd place, taking a well-deserved bronze medal with 2681 points.

Grangemouth Open Graded Meeting

Grangemouth Open Graded Meeting
Grangemouth
08/07/2009

Anna Graham (Nithsdale AC) produced a storming run to move to 2nd in the Scottish rankings for 70m Hurdles. Anna only started hurdling at the start of the season and took over a second off her lifetime best to finish in 12.13, with a legal following wind. She also clocked 15.13 in the 100m.

Andrew Black (Stewartry AC) also ran in the 100m, running 13.02 and 13.15 in his respective races.

Serbia is the destination for Hood

Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) earned a call-up for Great Britain & NI for the European Junior Championships after a brilliant 5th placed finish at the Aviva UK World Trials. Her time of 10:24 was just outside the qualifying standard of 10:20 but due to her ranking in Europe, the selection panel chose to take Nicola to Serbia. She will be one of 4 Scottish athletes there. All the Scots are female and compete in middle distance events. Jenny Tan (Fife) competes in the 800m, while Nicola's teammates Josephine Moultrie and Beth Potter compete in the 1500m and 3000m respectively.

Gothenburg Youth Games

Gothenburg Youth Games
26-28 June 2009
Gothenburg, SWE

Laura Penrice (Shettleston Harriers) and Kirsty Barr (VP-Glasgow) travelled to Sweden for these international games, which take place in the stadium used for the 2006 European Championships in Athletics.

Kirsty was the most successful with 3 PBs out of 3 events. She took 0.3 seconds of her 100m Hurdles best witha 16.15 clocking with a slight wind of +0.3. In the HJ she added 2cm to her PB with a 1.67m jump. In the LJ, she jumped a SB of 5.33m in qualifying before adding 10cm to her PB in the final with 5.51m.

Laura competed in 1 event; the 1500m. She finished 5th in her race with 5:20.26.

Ayrshire Harriers Open Graded Meeting

Ayrshire Harriers Open Graded Meeting
Ayr
17th June 2009

Under 11
Alice Bell (Stewartry AC) - 2h1 80m 13.3, 2 LJ 3.04m (PB)
Catriona Pringle (ADAC) - 6h1 80m 15.1, 7 LJ 2.69m

Under 13
J Dean (Stewartry AC) - 6h2 200m 35.9, 8 HJ 1.15m
Lewis Holliday (ADAC) - 3h2 200m 33.0 (PB)
Angus Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) - 1h1 200m 31.2, 3 800m 2:44.4
Alison Pringle (ADAC) - 1 HJ 1.05m (PB), 6 Shot 4.80m (PB), 1 Discus 11.23m
Kieran Saunders (ADAC) - 1 800m 2:32.5

Under 15
Callum Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) - 2 Shot 6.15m (PB), 1 Discus 17.88m
Jacqueline Pringle (Stewartry AC) - 3 800m 2:42.0, 6 Shot 6.62m (PB)

Under 17
Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC) - 1 Shot 12.51m (PB)

SWAL Match 2

SWAL Match 2
31st May 2009
Meadowbank

4 of the region's female athletes competed for their respective teams in the 2nd of the Scottish Women's Athletics League meetings.

Hope Robertson (Edinburgh AC) was once again to the fore in the sprints with victory in the 100m and 2nd place in the 200m. Both were heavily marred by strong headwinds. In the 100m, Hope ran a time of 12.9 into a -1.8 wind. In the 200m, she ran a good 25.6 into a -2.8 headwind, only losing out to Pitreavie's Stephanie Walker, who was given the same time.

Jane Scott (Stewartry AC), competing for Team Lothian competed in 100m Hurdles, High Jump and Long Jump. In the Hurdles she equalled her personal best of 15.6, although this time it was into a -1.1 headwind, rather than a 1.1 tailwind. She finished 2nd in the A string. In the HJ, Jane equalled her PB of 1.55m to finish 4th in the A string. Finally, in the LJ, she finished 1st in the B string with a leap of 5.15. Jane has never jumped below 5m this season.

Katy Brown and Kirsten Gair (both Stewartry AC) competed for Team West in the Under 17 and Under 15 age groups respectively. Katy finished 4th in a highly competitive 800m race with 2:20.3, her 2nd fastest time ever. Kirsten competed in the discus, finishing 6th in the A string with her 2nd furthest throw ever of 20.35m.

SYAL Match 2 Div 2

Scottish Young Athletes League Match 2
17th May 2009
Grangemouth

Under 13 Boys
??? - 3 75m H A 14.2, 7 LJ B 2.83, 2 Shot A 6.61
Angus Johnstone - 1 200m A 30.6, 2 800m A 2:33.8, 1 LJ A 3.92

Under 13 Girls
Hannah Beattie - 5 75m B 12.65 (PB), 8 150m A 26.8 (PB), 8 800m A 3:25.4
Anna Graham - 4 70m H A 13.67 (PB), 3 LJ A 4.07 (PB)
Kathryn Park - 8 75m A 12.43, 5 150m B 25.6 (PB), 2 70m H B ?, 3 LJ B 3.37

Under 15 Boys
??? - 1 80m H A 14.93, 3 200m B 31.04, 7 LJ B 3.39
Callum Johnstone - 6 Shot A 5.34, 5 Discus A 16.79
Scott McKinney - 1 100m B 13.70, 3 200m A 27.65
Chris Ponton - 1 1500m A ?
Glen Watson - 4 100m A 13.32, 2 800m A 2:24.7 (PB), 2 LJ A 4.42

Under 15 Girls
??? - 5 LJ B 3.06, 6 Discus A 11.29
Annabel Barr - 2 100m A 14.20, 3 200m A 29.37, 4 Shot 6.28 (PB)
Danielle Beattie - 1 800m A 2:31.01, 5 Discus B 9.27 (PB)
Ellen Flaws - 3 75m H B 14.8
Stephanie Little - 3 100m B 14.78 (PB), 1 800m B 2:36.64 (PB), 3 75m H A 14.2
Melissa McCrindle - 6 200m B 34.99 (PB), 8 LJ A 3.29, 3 Shot B 5,16 (PB)

Under 17 Men
Thomas Barr - 5 400m A 59.4 (PB), 6 HJ A 1.60, 5 Shot A 9.10 (PB)
David Vernon - 6 200m A ?, 2 800m A 2:03.05 (PB), 6 Shot B 6.50 (PB)

Under 17 Women
Stephanie Lawrie - 2 300m B 47.81, 4 800m A 2:31.27 (PB), 2 HJ B 1.25
Carly McCrindle - 6 300m A 48.26, 3 80m H 13.95 (PB), 2 HJ A 1.50 (PB)

Scottish Championships

Scottish Senior Championships
20/21st June
Pitreavie

Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC), Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) and Jane Scott (Stewartry AC) competed at the Scottish Senior Championships, with Kirsty bringing home a silver medal.

Kirsty, Scotland's leading Under 17 shot putter, acquitted herself well with a 12.01 put in 2nd place. The winner was Mhairi Porterfield (Pitreavie AAC), who is about 12 years older than Kirsty, giving her plenty of time to catch up!

Nicola ran in the 1500m instead of the steeplechase due to the European Under 20 trials taking place this weekend. She was looking for a PB but there were too many factors against her. She finished 5th in her heat with 4:42.56, only a second away from a PB.

Jane competed in 4 events. Her best performance came in her 100m Hurdles heat, where she ran a PB of 15.53 to finish 3rd with no wind whatsoever. The conditions weren't as favourable for the final. Jane finished 6th in 16.51 into a -2.4 headwind. She also jumped a 50cm PB in the Triple Jump. She finished 5th with 10.92, again with no wind. Jane also finished 8th in the Long Jump with 5.29m, close to her PB, and 6th in the High Jump with 1.50m.

Scottish Masters Championships

Scottish Masters Championships
14th June 2009

A select team of 4 athletes brought home a big return of 12 medals from their outdoor championships.

A big winner was James Sloan (ADAC) in the M65 category. He brought home golds in the HJ, Shot, Discus and Javelin. His winning marks were 1.20m, 10.17m, 35.03m and 29.61m respectively.

Joyce Rammell (Nithsdale AC) also dominated the throws in the F60 category with wins in the Shot, Discus and Hammer. In the shot she threw a PB of 8.74m, improving on her 8.59m best from 2006. In the Discus, she was slightly down on her SB with 21.80m. She also won the Hammer with a PB of 29.32m.

John Birkett (ADAC) was another thrower competing, this time in the M50 category. He was 2nd in the Discus with 20.97m, a metre down on his SB. However, he recorded victories in the Shot and Javelin with 9.51m (an outdoor SB) and 24.27m (a SB and not too far off his PB.)

Last but not least was relative youngster Eric Dunion (ADAC) in the M45 category. He finished 3rd in both the 100m and 200m with 12.98 and 26.99.

NJAL Match 3

NJAL Match 3 - Northern Premier
Manchester
14/06/09

Hope Robertson (Edinburgh AC), Kirsty Barr and Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) competed for Team Edinburgh and Team Glasgow respectively in the 3rd out of 4 rounds in the National Junior League.

Nicola had the most successful day with 2 PBs in the 800m and 1500m S/C. In her first 800m for 3 years, she did well to stick with the leaders and finished an excellent 3rd in 2:15.29. In the chase, she displayed good form ahead of the European Junior Trials in 2 weeks time with a new PB and an emphatic victory. She took another 4 seconds from her PB set in Liverpool in April with 5:00.63, giving her an 18 second lead, although just outside the 5 minute barrier.

Kirsty also produced a PB in the 100m Hurdles. Her previous best of 16.46 was wind assisted but on this occasion, Kirsty ran 16.45 into a -0.7 wind, showing signs of more to come. She was 2nd in the B final. Kirsty also cleared 1.60m in the HJ. This gave her 2nd place. She jumped the same height as Edinburgh AC's Emma Lowry but lost back on countback.

Team Glasgow finished 2nd in the match behind Sale Harriers Manchester, 480 points to 478 points, while Team Edinburgh were 3rd with 439 points.

Hope was clearly feeling the effects of the Scottish Schools Champs which had taken place the two previous days. In the 100m, she was 2nd in 12.53, which was a good result into a -1.7 wind. The effects of the Championships showed more clearly in the 200m, where she was 4th in 25.80, although it was into a -2.6 headwind.

SSAA T & F Champs

SSAA Track & Field Champs
Grangemouth
12/13 June 09

Several local athletes competed at the Scottish Schools. There were some gold medals on show, although there could have been more but for the absences of David Vernon and Kyle McLellan (Nithsdale AC), who were gallavanting in France on a school trip as were Richard Stonehouse, Justin Little, Alex Craig and Stephanie Lawrie (all Nithsdale AC).

Friday
Wins came from Kirsty Yates (Stewarty AC) and Hope Robertson (Edinburgh AC) on the 1st day of competition.

Kirsty was once again victorious in the Group B shot. She was well done on her personal best with 11.67 but this was enough to give her a comfortable lead over Rachel Hunter (Ayr Seaforth) in 2nd with 10.85.

In the 80m Hurdles, Kirsty was 2nd in her heat with 12.39, narrowly outside her PB of 12.35. Both these times were ran into a strong headwind. In the final, Kirsty struggled with the -2.9 headwind and finished down in 5th with 12.57.

Hope competed in the Group A 100m on Friday. She eased through her heat with 12.78 into a -1.7 headwind. Conditions had changed in the final where the sprinter were aided by a +0.7 wind. Hope won in 12.46 but might have been disappointed not to be closer to her PB of 12.28, set last year. Nonetheless it was a SB for the 17 year old Lockerbie Academy pupil.

The only other medal of the day came from the much improved Joanna Muir (Stewarty AC) in the Group B 1500m. Having eased through her heat in 4:58.39, Joanna priduced a 4 second PB in the final whilst finishing an excellent 3rd against older opponents. She finished behind Sarah Kelly and Hollie Young with 4:43.58.

Most of the other performances came from the 800m. In the Group D 800m, Laura Penrice (Shettleston Harriers) successfully made it through to the final after finishing 3rd in her heat in 2:32.32 but couldn't finish in a fast final, won with a Scottish Under 13 Record from Kathryn Gillespie (Central AC).

Also in the Group D 800m was Jacqueline Pringle (Stewartry AC) who finished 4th in Laura's heat with a new PB of 2:35.43.

Someone else in Pb form was Danielle Beattie (Nithsdale AC), who competed in the Group C 800m. She was 3rd in her heat with a 3 second PB of 2:27.61 but unfortunately was just outside the 2 fastest losers spots for the final.

The other athlete competing was Jess Liddon (Nithsdale AC). Jess recorded a big PB of 46.65 in the heats of the 300m Group B competition but unfortunately, she didn't make it to the final.

Saturday
There were 2 more golds on Saturday for Hope Robertson and Kirsten Gair (Stewartry AC), the latter also winning silver.

Kirsten won gold in the Group D Discus and silver in the Group D Javelin. Competing with the lighter Under 13 weights, she posted new PBs in both events with 24.28 in the Discus and 22.11 in the Javelin.

Hope continued her sprint double with an emphatic victory in the Group A 200m. Her winning time of 25.34 would have been a narrow electronic PB but for the +2.3 wind. She won by half a second from Lasswade's Lesley Campbell.

Fiona Paterson (Stewarty AC) competed in her new event, the 300m Hurdles. She was 2nd in her heat with 49.24 before taking a second off her PB in the final when finishing 4th. Her time of 47.71 was a narrow 0.2 seconds off a medal.

Another improving athlete is Katy Brown (Stewarty AC) who missed most of last year through injury. The St Joseph's College pupil made the final of Group B 800m with 2:24.62 in the heats before improving her PB in the final to 2:19.08, finishing 5th.

Carly McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) didn't have the best of days by her own standards. In the HJ she could only manage 1.40m, which put her in 9th= position. If she had equalled her PB of 1.50 she could've been as high as 5th position. In the 300m Hurdles, she finished 5th with 53.57, down on her PB, although she will have been tired out by the Pentathlon Championships the week before.

Chris Ponton (Nithsdale AC) finished 10th in a highly competitive Group C 1500m final. He couldn't keep up with the leaders but ran a good race to finish in 4:45.94.

Callum Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) had a mixed day. He threw a PB in the Group D Javelin to finish 5th in 22.48 but had a disappointing Discus where he finished 7th with 16.06, down on his PB, which is over 20m.

SSAA Pentathlon

SSAA Pentathlon Championships
Grangemouth
07/06/2009

Sisters Carly and Melissa McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) took part in this event for Dumfries High School in the Group B and S1 competitions respectively.

Carly went into this competition with medal aspirations and was always thereabouts. She started off well with a 14.27 PB in the 80m Hurdles, which put her in 4th place. She followed that up with 3rd place in the Shot with 6.87m, also a PB. Her Long Jump was a decent effort with 4.04, although slightly down on her PB. This kept her position in 4th place, despite finishing 5th in that event. Her HJ was better with 1.49m, 1cm outside her PB. This was the 3rd best in the competition and she narrowly missed out on 1.52 as well. The final event was the dreaded 800m, where Carly ran to her best time in years of 2:45.02. This was the 2nd best time in the event and Carly placed 4th overall, an agoniszing 3 points off 3rd place.

Melissa competed in the S1 Triathlon of High Jump, Shot and 600m. She did well in each event, placing 5th in the HJ with 1.18, 5th in the Shot with 5.30 and 6th in the 600m with 2:09.76. She finished 6th overall.

New PBs for Hood and Vernon

There were new PBs for Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) and David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) at the St Marys Track Classic and BMC Nike Grand Prix respectively.

After being disappointed with her performance at Loughborough, Nicola made up for it with a 4 second PB in the 2K S/C. The GB representative was 2nd behind BUCS silver medallist Laura Parker in 6:49.71. This was her 1st time under the 6:50 mark.

David was 13th in a fast race in Manchester. The position was not important though, as he stormed to a 7 second PB in 4:05.82. This places him at the top of the Scottish Under 17 rankings.

Earlier in June on the 3rd, David also ran a 3K best of 9:01.83 at Grangemouth. This qualifies him for the England Athletics Championships in August.

Weekend Update - NJAL and CSSAL Div 1

National Junior Athletics League Match 2 - 24/05/2009 Grangemouth

Kirsty Barr (VP-Glasgow), Josh Crawford and Hope Robertson (both Edinburgh AC) competed at the second league meeting of the season for Team Glasgow and Team Edinburgh respectively.

Hope was the most successful with 2 wins in the 100m and 4x100m Relay and 2nd in the 200m. Unlike the opening match, the wind was behind the sprinters and this lead to most times being wind assisted. In the 100m, Hope ran well to edge out Liverpool's Carmen Gedling. Her winning time was 12.40, which was a season's best, albeit with a +3.8 wind. In the 200m, Hope finished a decent 2nd in 25.49w but will be disappointed to have been beaten by Under 17 Bethanie Finlayson (Pitreavie AC), who has never run under 26 seconds without being wind assisted.In the 4x100m Relay, Hope joined forces with Sarah Warnock, Lesley Campbell and Erin Froude to win in 49.38.

Kirsty's best performance of the day perhaps came in the 100m Hurdles, where she was competing in this event for the first time. She placed a good 2nd in the B String with a time of 16.46w. In the High Jump, she continued her recent form with a 1.60m clearance. This was the height of the winning jump but unfortunately Kirsty placed 3rd on countback. She also competed in the 4x100m Relay with Chloe Lambert, Andrea Gaffney and Heather Rankine. The team finished 5th in 51.32.

Josh competed in the 200m B string individually. He ran well to finish 2nd in 22.72w, unfortunately with a +2.8 wind reading. He also took part in the short relay with Allan Hamilton, Matthew Jones and Sean Hood. They finished 2nd in 43.65.

At the end of the day, it was Team Edinburgh who secured victory with 496 points with Team Glasgow just behind with 457.5.

CSSAL Division 1 Match 2 - Wishaw 24/05/2009
Laura and Euan Penrice (Shettleston Harriers) competed in the 1500m in the Under 15 Girls and Under 13 Boys races.

Laura ran extremely well to finish 2nd in the A string with a massive PB of 5:19.8. This was nearly a nine second improvement on her previous best.

Euan also ran well, finishing 3rd in the B String. His time of 5:30.6 was a bit off his PB of 5:20.69, set at last week's Young Athletes League.

Hood 3rd In Loughborough

Loughborough International - 17/05/09
Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) produced a good performance in her first 3K Steeplechase of the season in blustery and wet conditions at Loughborough.

The 18 year old Euro U20s hopeful was 3rd in 10:46.70, her 2nd fastest time ever. Ahead of her was former British record holder Tina Brown and two time BUCS champion Ruth Senior. Nicola was first Scot ahead of runner Emma Raven (formely Waterhouse) who was 2nd behind her at the last week's Inter Regional Championships at Wishaw. 5th was fellow junior Laura Parker, who is the 2009 BUCS silver-medallist.

Hood To Get 1st GB Cap on the Track

Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) has been selected for a Great Britain & NI Junior Team at this weekend's Loughborough Initernational. She will compete in the 3000m Steeplechase in a six way match betweeen England, Scotland, Wales, BUCS, Loughborough Students and GB Under 20. So far only Emma Waterhouse (Scotland) and Laura Parker (BUCS) have been announced for the steeplechase. Ruth Senior is expected to run for either England or Loughborough Students, making this race a perfect opportunity to gain the 10:20 qualifying standard for the European Junior Championships although it is fairly early on in the season.

Superteams

Under 13 Superteams
Wishaw
09/05/09

On a wet Saturday, 7 ADAC athletes joined with a Nithsdale AC athlete competed in the first Superteams Championships for Under 13 athletes. Out of the boys and girls teams it was the boys team of Kieran Saunders, Lewis Holliday, Lee Dunion and Angus Johnstone who were the most successful, picking up a bronze medal. The girls team of Emma Back, Catriona Pringle, Shannon Dunion and Charley Donaldson didn't fare quite as well but it was a good day for all involved, in spite of the torrential rain.

The ADAC boys started off well with Kieran Saunders and Angus Johnstone posting the 2nd and 3rd fastest times of the day. They recorded 2:29.06 and 2:31.75 respectively, both earning new PBs. They were backed up by Lewis Hollidays' 2:53.50 and Lee Dunion's 3:06.56. In the Long Jump it was once again Kieran and Angus who led the way with 3.72m and 3.63m. They were followed by 3.25m by Lewis and 3.13m by Lee. Next up was the controversial Turbo Javelin. Angus and Kieran both threw 16m and were closely followed by Lee (14m) and Lewis (12m). After a long day, it was time for the boys to join forces as a 4x100m relay team. They managed to get the baton round safely and finished 3rd in 59.55. With all the points combined, the boys gained a well deserved bronze medal for their efforts,behind VP-Glasgow and Law & District.

Individual Points:
Kieran Saunders: 52
Angus Johnstone: 50
Lewis Holliday: 33
Lee Dunion: 29

The girls team was led by thrower, Emma Back, who proved that she is an all rounder by leading the team home in the 800m with 2:59.13. The rest of the girls packed well and finished in 3:32.36 (Charley Donaldson), 3:40.19 (Alison Pringle) and 3:49.65 (Shannon Dunion). It was to the Long Jump next and Charley Donaldson headed the team with 2.90m. She was followed by Emma Back with 2.80m, Shannon with 2.70m and Alison with 2.50m. In the Turbo Javelin, Emma proved her throwing credentials with 16m, the equal furthest throw. Charley followed with 12m while Alison and Shannon both threw 10m. Finally it was the 4x100m relay. The team got the baton safely round in 71.90. Despite finishing down in 23rd, the team still had a great time competing.

Individual Points
Emma Back: 30
Charley Donaldson: 19
Alison Pringle: 14
Shannon Dunion: 14

Scottish Inter Regional Championships

Scottish Inter Regional Championships
Wishaw
10/05/09

After the typhoon yesterday at Wishaw, the weather was considerably better senior athletes, although there was some strong winds that made life difficult for all the athletes. Despite the weather, several local athletes were in PB breaking mode.

Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) continued her good early season form with another impressive victory over the Steeplechase barriers. Running for West City, she once again obliterated the field with a dominating 13 second win over the 2000m distance. She broke her PB by 8 seconds, coming home in 6:54.00.

Hope Robertson (Edinburgh AC) once again proved she is the best junior sprinter at a national level with 3rd and 2nd place in the 100m and 200m respectively. In the 100m, she ran 12.69 into a fierce -2.7 headwind, finishing behind Stacey Downie and guest athlete Laura Davies. In the 200m, the headwind was slightly less with -0.5. This allowed Hope to run a good run of 25.53 to finish again behind Stacey Downie. Not bad considering Hope is 5 years younger than Downie.

Josh Crawford (Edinburgh AC) also secured 2nd place in the B String 200m. The -2.4 headwind prevented him from going under 23 seconds, but he still ran a 23.05 SB.

Kirsty Barr (VP-Glasgow) was another winner on the day with 1= in the HJ. After a below par 1.50m opener in April, Kirsty looked a lot better with 1.65m, which equals her PB. She was joined in the HJ by Jane Scott (Stewartry AC) who was 2nd in the B string with 1.50m, an equal SB. But Jane's best result came in the LJ, where she added 5cm to her Pb with 5.37m. This gave her 2nd place in the A string LJ. Jane also ran a fabulous 15.89 in the 100m Hurdles into a -1.5 wind. This was 2nd place in the B string after a close finish with Highland and Grampian's Sylvia Kamya. Kamya finished just 0.01 of a second ahead of Jane.

Colette Irvine (ADAC) and Jayne Kirkpatrick (Nithsdale AC) competed in the A and B strings of the Javelin for West Coast. Colette finished 4th in the A string with 30.11m, her 2nd furthest throw ever. Not bad for the youngest competitor. Jayne also produced a good 28.24m throw to win the B string convincingly.

Scottish Under 15/Under 17 Closed Championships

Scottish Under 15/Under 17 Closed Championships
Wishaw
09/05/09

Several of the region's athletes competed at this event. There were several PBs on show even though the conditions were extremely wet and cold.

Kirsten Gair (Stewartry AC) produced a storming performance in the Under 15 Discus to win gold by nearly 8 metres. Despite never have thrown an Under 15 Discus in competition, she threw a massive 29.04m. This is very encouraging for her prospects next year as she is a first year Under 15. Kirsten also competed in the Shot Put and Javelin. She recorded a new PB of 7.92m to finish 5th in the Shot. She finished 7th in the Javelin, slightly down on her PB, with 17.23m.

The other gold medal came Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC), in the Under 17 Women's Shot Put. Kirsty continued her dominance of the national scene with a 2.10m victory with a 12.30m put, 5cm outside her PB. Nobody could reply to that, with 2nd place going to a 10.20m shot. Kirsty also received a bronze medal in the 80m Hurdles. She ran an impressive 12.35 PB into a strong headwind. This was also her 1st hurdles race of the outdoor season so it was an excellent result.

Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) made the transition from Under 15 to Under 17 smoothly in the 1500m. After cruising through to the final in 5:06.58, she smashed her PB to finish 2nd in a competitive race. Her time of 4:47.12 was no match for race winner Hollie Young (VP-Glasgow) but it was enough to give her first medal on a national track stage outdoors (not including West Districts).

Back on the field, Alice Back (ADAC) secured a silver medal in the Under 17 Women's Discus. Her 23.90m was slightly down on her PB, but it was enough to secure 2nd place. Younger brother Jack also received a medal. He was 3rd in the Under 15 Boys' Javelin. His throw of 24.19m was way down on his PB but the windy conditions prevented all the throwers from reaching their best and Jack received a bronze medal for his efforts.

The horrible conditions didn't stop Katy Brown (Stewartry AC) from securing her first medal as an Under 17. A fast pace was set out by Sarah Kelly (Dundee HH) and although couldn't keep with her, she still finished 3rd with a new PB of 2:19.92. This was a new PB and shows that she is well on the road to recovery after an injury curtailed her 2008 season. In the same race, Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) battled strongly to finish 9th in 2:31.63. This was marginal PB (0.2 seconds!) but shows that there is more to come when the weather is nicer.

David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) might have been disappointed to finish 5th in the Under 17 Men's 1500m but he was reward with a PB for his efforts. His time was 4:12.60 and was agonisingly close to those in 2nd and 3rd place, who both ran 4:11.

The much-improved Chris Ponton (Nithsdale AC) ran 4:44.64 in his 1500m heat to make the Under 15 Boys' final. However, the earlier run had taken a lot out of him and he couldn't improve on that time. Nevertheless, he priduced a good run to finish 8th in 4:46.65.

Danielle Beattie (Nithsdale AC) surprised herself by reaching the final of the Under 15 Girls' 1500m. She finished 10th in the final with 5:21.70. Her heat time was 5:20.76.

Laura Penrice and Jacqueline Pringle (both Stewartry AC) ran in the same heat of the Under 15 Girls' 800m. Unfortunately neith could make it through. Laura finished 3rd in 2:36.31 and Jacqueline finished 5th in 2:42.50.

Scottish Inter Regional Championships Preview

Scottish Inter Regional Championships
Wishaw
10/05/09

8 Dumfries & Galloway athletes are competing in this inaugural championship on Sunday. The event is run like a league meeting, with six teams competing with A and B strings and 2 guest lanes in each string.

A likely winner on the day is Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow)in the 2000m Steeplchase, competing for West City. After a 5 second PB in Liverpool, she will looking to break the 7 minute barrier by a considerable margin. In the absence of Eilish McColgan, her main rival will be Emma Waterhouse, who last year clocked 6:56.34 in this event.

After a strong start to the season, Hope Robertson (Edinburgh AC) will be looking to make the mark in the senior ranks. The West Coast runner will compete in the A String 100m and 200m, against several notable runners, including last year's Closed Senior 100m champion, Laura Davies and Scottish and England Athletics Under 23 100m Champion, Louise Dickson. Possibly her strongest event will be the 200m, where she is currently ranked 2nd in Scotland.

Another athlete moving up to the senior ranks is Scottish Indoor under 20 200m Champion, Josh Crawford (Edinburgh AC). He competes in the B string of the 200m for East with strong hopes of a victory against older opponents. He will also be looking to break the 23 second mark if the weather is right.

Another teenager looking for a medal is Kirsty Barr (VP-Glasgow) who competes in the High Jump A string for West Coast. After a breakthrough 2008 where she jumped 1.65m, she will be looking to clear 1.70m and behind this season. However, she may have to settle for a bit lower than that on Sunday, after an unconvincing 1.50m season opener at the beginning of April.

Jane Scott (Stewartry AC) again competes for West Coast. She is in the B string for 100m Hurdles, High Jump and Long Jump. She is looking in good form for all three events with 1.50m in the High Jump (PB 1.55m), 5.26m in the Long Jump (PB 5.32m) and 15.6 in the Hurdles (PB). PBs could go in all three events.

After shattering her Javelin PB in April, Colette Irvine (ADAC) makes the transition from Under 17 to Senior for West Coast in the Javelin. She will want to improve on her 31.49m throw as she tests herself against the best Scottish throwers in the A string. Alongside her in the Javelin is Jayne Kirkpatrick (Nithsdale AC). Despite few competitions in the Javelin recently, she will hope to challenge her PB of 33.13m, which dates back to 2005.

The final competitor is Stefan Slater (Nithsdale AC), who makes his championship debut in the A string Shot Put for West Coast. Although he's up against it, it will be a good experience for the junior athlete.

SYAL Match 1

Scottish Young Athletes League Central Div 2 Match 1 - Wishaw 4/5/09

A small group of Nithsdale AC's athletes braved the windy conditions to produce promising performances ahead of this week's Scottish Under 15/17 Closed Championships.

Under 13 Boys

Daniel Gibson - 4 75m H B 18.7, 5 LJ B 2.95, 3 Shot A 6.41
Angus Johnstone - 1 200m A 30.1, 1 1500m A 5:16.4, 1 LJ A 3.87


Under 13 Girls
Hannah Beattie - 8 75m B 12.8, 8 150m A 27.1
Anna Graham - 3 150m B 22.9, 2 70m H A 14.0, 3 LJ A 3.63
Kathryn Park - 5 75m A 12.1, 3 70m H B 16.1, 3 LJ B 3.29

Under 15 Boys
Ryan Hoyle - 4 200m A 28.4, 3 400m A 65.2, 1 LJ B 4.20
Callum Johnstone - 4 Shot A 5.18, 2 Discus B 20.24
Scott McKinney - 1 100m B 13.3, 1 80m H A 14.9
Chris Ponton - 1 1500m A 4:41.8
Andrew Smith - 2 200m B 30.8, 2 400m B 70.8, 2 Shot B 4.92
Glen Watson - 2 100m A 13.0, 2 LJ A 4.71, 3 Discus A 22.04

Under 15 Girls
Danielle Beattie - 2 800m A 2:30.1, 6 HJ A 1.25, 4 Javelin A 10.62
Stephanie Little - 6 100m A 15.0, 4 75m H A 14.2, 6 Shot A 4.50
Melissa McCrindle - 5 800m B 2:52.9, 4 Javelin B 7.56


Under 17 Men
David Vernon - 4 800m A 2:04.4, 7 LJ A 4.15


Under 17 Women
Stephanie Lawrie - 7 300m A 48.3, 3 800m A 2:33.6, 6 LJ A 3.75m
Carly McCrindle - 3 80m H A 14.1, 2 300m H A 52.7, 6 Shot A 6.50

CSSAL Match 1

CSSAL Match 1 - Linwood
Despite the traditional rubbish weather at Linwood and the usual low opening match turnout, Nithsdale AC's athletes managed to perform well to finish 2nd behind Livingston.

There were several highlights, including Angus Johnstone's PBs in 800m and LJ, just a day after finishing 2nd at the Scottish Primary Schools XC Championships. And who could forget David Beattie's epic! Shot Put, winning despite being a relative novice. There was also a handful of Stewartry AC athletes present as well. Even though they finished stone last, this was more due to lack of athletes than quality of performances.

D&G Results
Under 11 Boys
Billy Carlyle (Nithsdale AC) - 1 80m A 13.6, 3 LJ A 3.12m
Robert McColl (Nithsdale AC) - 1 80m B 14.7, 2 LJ B 2.34m

Under 11 Girls
Catriona Pringle (Stewartry AC) - 3 800m A 3:32.6, 3 LJ 2.72m

Under 13 Boys
Daniel Gibson (Nithsdale AC) - 3 100m B 17.4, 3 LJ B 3.14m, 3 Shot A 6.10m
Angus Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) - 1 800m A 2:36.6, 1 LJ A 4.23m
Andrew Smith (Nithsdale AC) - 3 100m A 15.2, 1 Shot B 4.48m

Under 13 Girls
Hannah Beattie (Nithsdale AC) - 3 800m A 3:22.6, 3 LJ B 2.60m
Anna Graham (Nithsdale AC) - 1 100m A 15.2, 1 LJ A 3.82m
Kathryn Park (Nithsdale AC) - 1 100m B 16.4

Under 15 Boys
Ryan Hoyle (Nithsdale AC) - 2 100m B 14.3, 1 400m B 63.1
Scott McKinney (Nithsdale AC) - 2 100m A 13.4
Chris Ponton (Nithsdale AC) - 1 800m A 2:22.7
Glen Watson (Nithsdale AC) - 1 800m B 2:25.3, 1 Javelin A 23.00

Under 15 Girls
Danielle Beattie (Nithsdale AC) - 2 800m A 2:35.6
Ellen Flaws (Nithsdale AC) - 2 100m A 14.8, 2 LJ A 4.13m
Melissa McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) - 2 800m B 3:03.3
Jacqueline Pringle (Stewartry AC) - 3 800m A 2:46.0, 2 HJ A 1.15m
Kristin Zilwood (Nithsdale AC) - 2 100m B 17.1, 3 HJ A 1.15m, 1 LJ B 3.27m

Under 17 Women
Carly McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) - 3 100m 15.4, 3 300m A 48.0, 1 HJ A 1.30m

Senior/Masters Men
David Beattie (Nithsdale AC) - 1 Shot A 9.63m (EPIC WIN) lol
Andrew Black (Stewartry AC) - 2 100m B 13.0, 2 800m B 2:53.5
Colin Black (Stewartry AC) - 3 400m A 59.4, 2 Shot 7.38m
Chris Love (Stewartry AC) - 1 400m B 57.7
Matthew Lynch (Stewartry AC) - 2 100m A 12.2, 2 800m A 2:50.9, 1 Shot B 6.62m
Willie Mackintosh (Nithsdale AC) - 1 100m A 16.5, 2 800m A 3:08.6, 1 3000m A 12:50.4, 2 Shot 4.76m

Senior/Masters Women
Jayne Kirkpatrick (Nithsdale AC) - 1 Shot A 7.23m
Joyce Rammell (Nithsdale AC) - 1 100m A 17.2, 1 LJ A 3.25m, 1 Shot A 7.31m

Border Harriers Open

Border Harriers Open Meeting - Carlisle 19/04/09

Unde 9 Boys
William Sherwin (Stewartry AC) - 2 60m 10.5, 1 Standing LJ 1.66m, 2 Cricket Ball 22.69m

Under 11 Boys
Shaun Bell (ADAC) - 5 80m 12.9, 1 HJ 1.15m, 2 LJ 3.42m
Robert Ponton (Nithsdale AC) - 9= 80m 14.1, 4 150m 27.0, 1 HJ 1.00m

Under 11 Girls
Alice Bell (Stewartry AC) - 1 80m 13.2, 1 150m 25.5

Under 13 Boys
Lee Dunion (ADAC) - 5= 100m 14.9, 3 HJ 1.15m, 6 LJ 3.52m
Lewis Holliday (ADAC) - 7 100m 15.2
Angus Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) - 3 100m 14.6, 1 200m 30.3, 2 1500m 5:04.5
Kieran Saunders (ADAC) - 1 100m 14.2, 2 200m 32.0

Under 13 Girls
Emma Back (ADAC) - 1 Shot 7.02m, 2 Discus 16.84m, 1 Javelin 20.37m
Sarah Bell (Stewartry AC) - 6 200m 33.1, 5 800m 3:03.4
Shannon Dunion (ADAC) - 2 Shot 6.08m, 3 Discus 13.56m, 2 Javelin 15.03m
Megan Heughan (Stewartry AC) - 6 800m 3:04.3

Under 15 Boys
Jack Back (ADAC) - 5 Shot 6.97m, 1 Discus 21.41m, 3 Javelin 29.88m
Dean Holliday (ADAC) - 2 Discus 17.72m, 6 Javelin 19.84m
Callum Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) - 6 Shot 5.29m, 3 Discus 13.47m
Chris Ponton (Nithsdale AC) - 1 1500m 4:42.0

Under 15 Girls
Ellen Flaws (Nithsdale AC) - 6 100m 14.5, 5 200m 29.9, 3 75m H 14.4
Stephanie Little (Nithsdale AC) - 7 100m 14.8, 6 200m 30.3, 2 75m H 13.7
Melissa McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) - 4 800m 2:55.6
Laura Penrice (Stewartry AC) - 1 800m 2:29.0
Jacqueline Pringle (Stewartry AC) - 3 800m 2:38.0, 3 HJ 1.15m, 1 Discus 12.77m

Under 17 Women
Alice Back (ADAC) - 2 Shot 7.04m, 1 Discus 24.23m, 2 Javelin 19.54m
Katy Brown (Stewartry AC) - 1 800m 2:23.9
Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) - 4 300m 47.5, 1 1500m 5:27.8, 1 LJ 3.86m
Carly McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) - 2 80m H 14.6
Fiona Paterson (Stewartry AC) - 1 80m H 14.0

Senior/Under 20 Men
John Birkett (ADAC) - 3 Shot 9.24m, 3 Discus 1.5kg 21.53m
Andrew Black (Stewartry AC) - 5 100m 13.2
Colin Black (Stewartry AC) - 3 400m 48.9
Eric Dunion (ADAC) - 4 100m 12.8
Chris Love (Stewartry AC) - 2 100m 12.2
Matthew Lynch (Stewartry AC) - 4 200m 24.2
James Sloan (ADAC) - 2 Shot 10.58m, 2 Discus 1kg 38.97m, 3 Javelin 32.40m

Senior/ Under 20 Women
Colette Irvine (ADAC) - 2 Shot 8.73m, 1 Discus 28.68m, 3 Javelin 31.49m

National Junior Athletics League

Liverpool 26/04/09
Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow), Hope Robertson and Josh Crawford (both Edinburgh AC) travelled down to Liverpool to compete in the first NJAL meeting.

The best performance came from Nicola, who dominated the 1500m Steeplechase, winning by a massive 17 seconds. Her performance of 5:04.62 was a new League Record, not to mention a new PB by 5 seconds. This was a great performance to start the new track season and was impressive in the very windy conditions.

The sprinters had it tough, running into very strong headwinds. Hope Robertson competed in the 100m and 200m plus the 4x100m relay. In the 100m, she ran 13.05, a relatively slow time for her but this was not surprising with a -4.7 wind. It was enough for 2nd in the A race. In the 200m, the winds had dropped slightly to -3.0. Hope was 3rd in the A race with a time of 25.90. The Edinburgh 4x100m relay team was 2nd behind Sale Harriers Manchester in 49.25.

Josh Crawford only ran one event, the 200m. He ran an outdoor SB to finish 4th in the A race in 23.22. The wind was -2.2.

Scottish Primary Schools XC Championships

Kirkcaldy 25/04/09
P6 Girls M-Z
16th Eden Collett 6:30 Newington PS
17th Meghan Branney 6:32 Newington PS
64th Becky Robinson Newington PS
98th Iona Morrin Newington PS
132nd Shannon Grieve Newington PS

P6 Boys M-Z
2nd Angus Johnstone 5:29 Lockerbie PS
23rd R Chandler 5:57 Newington PS
24th Kieran Kay 5:58 Newington PS
28th Shaun Bell Newington PS
44th Daniel Carey Newington PS
59th Dilon Blair Newington PS

P7 Girls A-L
17th Emma Back 6:03 Hottsbridge PS

P7 Girls M-Z
7th Aylish Paisley 5:50 Langholm PS

P7 Boys A-L
5th Kieran Saunders 5:19 Cummertrees PS

P7 Boys M-Z
25th Robert McLean Langholm PS

London Mini Marathon

London Mini Marathon - London 26/4/09
Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) produced the best performance out of the three D&G athletics competing for Scotland in this event. The Scottish Under 15 XC Champion finished 5th in the Girls Age 13-14 age group and was 29th female overall. She was also the 2nd female Scot to finish behind Hollie Young, which bodes well for next year when she moves up the Under 17 age group. She took a notable scalp in the shape of Emily Dudgeon, who received the same time of 17:40 as Joanna for the 3 mile course but was just edged out of position.

Kyle McLellan (Nithsdale AC) and David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) were competing in the Boys 15-17 age group. Kyle bet David for only the 2nd time, finishing 24th in the age group and 25th overall. David was six seconds behind in 29th place and 32nd overall. Their times of 15:14 and 15:20 respectively put them as 2nd and 3rd Scots overall behind Andrew Butchart. They also bet Scottish Schools Group B XC Champion and Under 17 XC Silver Medallist, Ross Matheson.

London Mini Marathon

3 of the region's athletes will represent Scotland at this weekend's London Mini-Marathon, which is run on the last 3 miles of the London Marathon course. The selected athletes are:

• Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) - Scottish Under 15 XC Champion and Scottish Schools Under 16 Indoor 1500m Champion
• David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) - Scottish Under 17 XC Bronze-Medallist and Scottish Schools Group B XC Silver-Medallist
• Kyle McLellan (Nithsdale AC) - Scottish Schools Over 16 Indoor 1500m Finallist and 6th place Scottish Under 17 XC

Scottish Women's Athletics League

SWAL Match 1 - 19th April 2009 Grangemouth

Hope Robertson and Jane Scott competed at this league meeting for Edinburgh AC and Lothian respectively.

Hope continued her winning form in the sprints by taking victories in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. In the 100m, she ran in the Senior B race and won with ease 12.57. This equalled her season's best and, with a wind reading of -0.3, shows that there's more to come. Next came the 200m, where Hope won the A race by 0.5 seconds from Dundee Hawkhill's Maria Thomas. Her time was 25.5 with a +0.9 wind.

Jane was 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Long Jump, 100m Hurdles and Triple Jump in respect. In the Long Jump, she jumped 5.26m, just 6cm off her personal best. With an -0.4 wind and after a series of 5m+ jumps early this season, that PB looks set to go. There was also a SB in the 100m Hurdles, where Jane was 3rd with 15.6, a big improvement on her earlier SB of 17.07. Finally in the Triple Jump, Jane hopped, skipped and jumped to 10.30m, finishing 4th.

Weekend Update

Weekend Performances

Under 11 Girls
Alice Bell (Stewartry AC) - 3 80m h1 13.3, 3 150m 25.0
Catriona Pringle (ADAC) - 6 80m h2 15.0, 3 LJ 2.50, 1 Shot 4.80m

Under 13 Boys
Daniel Gibson (Nithsdale AC) - 2 70m H 18.4, 1 Discus 13.56m, 1 Javelin 20.32m
Angus Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) - 2 200m 31.3, 2 1500m 5:15.5, 1 LJ 4.09m
Kieran Saunders (ADAC) - 1 1500m 5:04.5

Under 13 Girls
Sarah Bell (Stewartry AC) - 4 800m 3:03.8
Megan Heughan (Stewartry AC) - 8 800m 3:11.9
Kathryn Park (Nithsdale AC) - 7 800m 3:09.6, 5 LJ 3.39m, 2 Discus 11.67m
Alison Pringle (ADAC) - 7 150m 29.0, 1 Discus 12.68m

Under 15 Boys
Callum Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) - 3 Shot 5.52m, 2 Discus 15.73m, 2 Javelin 14.47m
Chris Ponton (Nithsdale AC) - 1 800m 2:21.2

Under 15 Girls
Jacqueline Pringle (Stewartry AC) - 8 100m h2 15.6, 5 800m 2:38.0, 3 Javelin 11.80m

Under 17 Men
Michael Kelly (Stewartry AC) - 4 200m 25.8, 4 HJ 1.45m

Under 17 Women
Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) - 1 1500m 5:28.4
Fiona Paterson (Stewartry AC) - 3 100m 13.6, 1 80m H 13.4

Senior/Under 20 Women
Hope Robertson (Edinburgh AC) - 1 100m 12.57, 1 200m 25.46
Jane Scott (Stewartry AC) - 1 100m H 17.07, 1 LJ 5.05m

Nithsdale AC Open Graded Meeting

Under 9 Boys
Joe Argo (Unattached) - 2 80m 14.3, 2 LJ 2.44m, 2 CB 20.99m
Jack Carlyle (Nithsdale AC) - 3 80m 14.7, 4 LJ 2.19m, 4 CB 12.37m
William Sherwin (Stewartry AC) - 1 80m 14.3, 1 LJ 2.68m, 1 CB 22.80m


Under 9 Girls
Erin Dobie (Nithsdale AC) -1 80m 12.7, 1 LJ 2.63m, 1 CB 16.51m


Under 11 Boys
Matt Argo (Nithsdale AC) - 10 80m 13.4w, 5 600m 2:10.0, 6 150m 26.6
Shaun Bell (ADAC) - 2 80m 12.7, 1 150m 23.1, 1 LJ 3.42m
Billy Carlyle (Nithsdale AC) - 5= 80m 13.1, 2 LJ 3.17m, 9 CB 17.50m
Mitchell Cowie (Stewartry AC) - 16 80m 14.5w, 10 600m 2:28.0, 7 CB 20.94
Robert McColl (Nithsdale AC) - 15 80m 14.3, 9 LJ 1.94m, 3 CB 23.41
Craig Penrice (Stewartry AC) - 4 80m 13.0w, 3 600m 2:08.0, 4 CB 22.79
Robert Ponton (Nithsdale AC) - 4 600m 2:10.0, 7 150m 26.9


Under 11 Girls
A Bell (Stewartry AC) - 3= 80m 13.4, 9 600m 2:33.0, 9 150m 26.2
Gemma Craig (Stewartry AC) - 3= 80m 13.4, 5 600m 2:16.0, 10 LJ 2.43m
Catriona Pringle (ADAC) - 10 600m 2:38.0, 7 LJ 2.63m, 2 CB 19.62m


Under 13 Boys
Lee Dunion (ADAC) - 9 100m 15.4, 4 LJ 2.56m, 3 HJ 1.10m
Grahan Dunse (Nithsdale AC) - 6 200m 36.3w, 1 Javelin 12.88m
Lewis Holliday (ADAC) - 5 100m 15.1, 2 200m 31.3w
Angus Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) - 8 100m 15.4, 2 200m 30.1w
Euan Penrice (Stewartry AC) - 3 1500m 5:27.0
Kieran Saunders (ADAC) - 2 100m 14.2, 1 1500m 5:08.0


Under 13 Girls
Emma Back (ADAC) - 7 Shot 5.23m, 1 Javelin 14.81m
Shannon Dunion (ADAC) - 6 Shot 5.29m, 2 Javelin 12.40m
Anna Graham (Nithsdale AC) - 3= 100m 14.8, 1 LJ 3.96m
M Heughran (Stewartry AC) - 9 800m 3:14.0
J Miller (Stewartry AC) - 6= 100m 15.1
Alison Pringle (ADAC) - 10 Shot 4.74m
Charlotte Smith (Nithsdale AC) - 13 200m 33.4, 3 LJ 3.72m


Under 15 Boys
Jack Back (ADAC) - 2 Shot 7.08m, 2 Javelin 27.90m
Callum Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) - 5 Shot 5.55m, 6 Javelin 15.59m
Scott McKinney (Nithsdale AC) - 3= 100m 12.8, 3 300m 41.5, 3 200m 26.0
Chris Ponton (Nithsdale AC) - 2 1500m 4:48.0
Glen Watson (Nithsdale AC) - 5 100m 13.1w, 2 800m 2:28.0, 2 LJ 4.70m


Under 15 Girls
Annabel Barr (Nithsdale AC) - 5 100m 13.9w, 6 200m 29.1
Danielle Beattie (Nithsdale AC) - 11= 100m 14.4, 1 1500m 5:21.0
F Beck (Stewartry AC) - 18 100m 15.2
S Bell (Stewartry AC) - 5 1500m 6:20.0
Vicky Campbell (Stewartry AC) - 6= 100m 14.0, 2 LJ 4.44m
Lauren Craig (Stewartry AC) - 4 800m 2:50.0
Ellen Flaws (Nithsdale AC) - 11= 100m 14.4w
Kirsten Gair (Stewartry AC) - 16 100m 14.9, 1 Shot 7.61m, 2 Javelin 19.94m
Stephanie Little (Nithsdale AC) - 15 100m 14.8w, 9 200m 30.8w
Melissa McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) - 5 800m 2:54.0
Laura Penrice (Stewartry AC) - 1 800m 2:34.0
Sophie Perkins (Nithsdale AC) - 7 800m 3:00.0
Jacqueline Pringle (Stewartry AC) 0 2 800m 2:44.0, 9 Shot 4.41m


Under 17 Men
Thomas Barr (Nithsdale AC) - 8 12.8, 1 HJ 1.70m
Murdo Burton (Stewartry AC) - 4 300m 42.0
Digger Clark (Stewartry AC) - 1 1500m 5:15.0, 9 200m 29.2
Michael Kelly (Stewartry AC) - 6= 100m 12.5, 5= 200m 25.3, 2 HJ 1.50m


Under 17 Women
Alice Back (ADAC) - 2 Shot 6.94m, 2 Javelin 16.76m
Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) - 1 800m 2:32.0, 2 LJ 3.97m, 2 HJ 1.25m
Fiona Paterson (Stewartry AC) - 3 200m 27.3
Carly McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) - 6 300m 47.6, 1 LJ 4.03m, 1 HJ 1.50m
Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC) - 6 100m 13.7w, 6 200m 28.6, 1 Shot 12.35m


Sen/U20 Men
John Birkett (ADAC) - 2 Shot (6kg) 9.40m
Andrew Black (Stewartry AC) - 5 100m 13.2
Colin Black (Stewartry AC) - 1 300m 40.8
Gary Brown (Unattached) - 2 200m 23.7
Alan Crawford (Nithsdale AC) - 4 100m 12.3
Eric Dunion (ADAC) - 6 100m 12.9
James Little (Unattached) - 1 Shot (Disability) 3.66m
Stefan Slater (Nithsdale AC) - 2 Javelin 31.27m
Jim Sloan (ADAC) - 1 Shot (5kg) 10.17m, 2 Javelin 30.84m


Sen/U20 Women

Kirsty Barr (Nithsdale AC) - 2 100m 13.0w, 1 LJ 5.27m, 2 HJ 1.50m
Dharia Gibson (Nithsdale AC) - 3 LJ 4.05m
Colette Irvine (ADAC) - 2 Shot 8.10m, 1 Javelin 26.40m
Hope Robertson (Edinburgh AC) - 1 100m 12.3w, 1 200m 25.1
Jane Scott (Stewartry AC) - 2 100m 13.2, 2 LJ 5.15m, 1 HJ 1.50m

National 6/4 Stage Relays

National 6/4 Stage Relays - Livingston 04/04/09
4 runners from Dumfries RC took to the roads of Livingston in this relay race over 18 miles.

Sian Finlay lead the team off on the shorter leg over 3.15 miles. She handed over to Lisa Finlay in 22nd with a time of 21:54. Over the longer 5.85 miles leg, Lisa produced a brilliant run to pull the team up to 11th. Her time of 36:20 as the 3rd fastest of the runners on her leg. Next up was Jo Zakrzewski, again on the shorter leg. Jo continued Lisa's momentum and pushed the team up to 6th with the 4th fastest time of the leg, 19:34. It was left to Mhairi Douglas to bring the team home and she did so in 38:27. The team's overall time was 1:56.15 which put them in 8th place.

Top 10
1st Kilbarchan AAC "A" 1:47.28
2nd Lothian RC "A" 1:50.13
3rd Hunters Bog Trotters "A" 1:52.32
4th Gala Harriers "A" 1:52.37
5th Springburn Harriers "A" 1:53.42
6th Edinburgh AC "B" 1:53.49
7th Glasgow University "A" 1:54.38
8th Dumfries RC "A" 1:56.15
9th Bellahouston RR "A" 1:56.57
10th Central AC "A" 1:57.37

Scottish Junior Road Races/Home Countries and SIAB International

Scottish Junior Road Race Championships - East Kilbride 22/03/2009
Laura Penrice (Stewartry AC) finished in 16th place out of 76 finishers in her last race as an Under 13. She was just edged out of 15th place by Sherelle Graham (Shettleston Harriers) and they were both given the same time of 12:08. This was only 5 seconds off a top 10 place although well behind race winner Roisin Bonucchi (Central AC) who finished in 11:28.

Homecountries/SIAB International XC - Bangor 28/03/09
Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) was the best D&G performer with 7th place in the Under 20 Home Countries Race. She ran well in 19:23 but will be slightly disappointed to finish 12 seconds behind teammate Josephine Moultrie who was 5th. The race winner was World Junior 1500m bronze medallist Emma Pallant (AFD) in 18:31.

David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) also made the top 10 in the Intermediate Boys race. He was 3rd Scot behind Ross Matheson (Edinburgh AC) and Craig Wellcoat (Law & District). He was 10th in 21:39 but might have liked to have been closer to Matheson who was 3rd in 21:16. The race winner was Tom Curr (Stroud & District) in 20:57.

The other D&G representative was recently crowned National Schools Biathlon Champion, Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC), who was 16th (17:54) in the Intermediate Girls race. She was the youngest competitor in this race and ran in a group of 2 other Scots, Scottish Under 17 Silver Medallist, Emily Dudgeon (Edinburgh AC) and Scottish Schools Bronze Medallist Hollie Young (VP-Glasgow). Nottingham Intercounties victor Emelia Gorecka (AFD) was a clear winner in 16:21.

Scottish Schools XC

Scottish Schools XC - Irvine 14/03/09
Several athletes braved the ferocious winds at Irvine to post some good results.

Performance of the day came from David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) in the Group B Boys Race. Still recovering from illness, he finished in a silver medal position, just 4 seconds off Ross Matheson in 1st place. He covered the 5.2K course in 18:08.

Also running well was Chris Ponton (Nithsdale AC), who finished an excellent 15th. He covered th 4K course in 16:36 to mark the last XC race of the season in style. Also in the Group C Boys race were Stuart Murray and Jamie Paisley (Langholm Academy) who were 25th and 41st respectively.

In the Girls race, Danielle Beattie (Nithsdale AC) continued her form after a foot injury, finishing 20th. Her time was 13:45. In the same race, Jacqueline Pringle (Stewartry AC) finished 84th.

In the Group B Girls Race, Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) battled to a 64th place. She was lying in about 45th place but had to stop due to breathing difficulties on the second lap. Despite finishing strongly, she couldn't claw back all those lost places but it was still a decent run.

Nottingham Intercounties

Nottingham Intercounties - 07/03/09
3 D & G athletes competed at the main domestic event of the cross country season.

Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) rounded off her superb season with an 8th place in the Under 20 Women's Race. She went with the early pace and battled hard to improve from 27th last year. She will be slightly disappointed to narrowly miss out on a World Cross Country place but it was still a major improvement. She was 3rd counter for the Scotland West team who went on to win team gold. She was also 4th in the overall McCain Cross Challenge Series.

Winner: Lilly Partridge (AFD) 22:55
5 Beth Potter (VP-Glasgow) 23:13
7 Josephine Moultrie (VP-Glasgow) 23:27
8 Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) 23:32
22 Danielle Brown (Springburn) 24:40

Equally impressive was Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC). She finished 20th in the Under 15 Girls Race and was once again top Scot. This was a massive improvement of 50th place last year and underlines her good form going into the track season.

Winner: Emelia Gorecka (AFD) 14:22
20 Joanna Muir (Stewartry) 15:46

David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) ran well to finish 32nd despite recovering from illness. Although he was beaten by several other Scottish runners, David will still be in the Under 17 age group next year and will be competitive. The Scotland West team again took top honours.

Winner: Paul thompson (AFD) 20:30
2 Callum Hawkins (Kilbarchan) 20:31
13 Stewart Orr (Cambuslang) 21:15
18 Jack Hamilton (Cambuslang) 21:22
27 Andrew Dearie (Shettleston) 21:35
32 David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) 21:39

Annan River Races

Annan River Races - Annan 01/03/09

D&G Results
Senior Women
Melanie Martin (Hardruck CC) 1st 31:50
Maureen Dickson (Dumfries RC) 2nd 34:25
Elizabeth Myatt (ADAC) 3rd 35:02
Kerry Willacy (Dumfries RC) 6th 45:04
Laura Fairbairn (Dumfries RC) 7th 45:04

Senior Men
Marcus Scotney (Dumfries RC) 1st 23:33
Joe Boardman (ADAC) 5th 26:07
Alan Baxter (Dumfries RC) 7th 26:53
Sandy Shankland (Dumfries RC) 8th 27:24
Alan Spence (U/A) 9th 27:38
Douglas Brown (Dumfries RC) 10th 27:41
Gordon Vivers (ADAC) 11th 28:21
Kevin McCaig (Border) 13th 28:55
Donald McCaullie (U/A) 16th 30:40
Jim Gracie (U/A) 18th 31:40
Ian McTeir (U/A) 21st 34:20
Peter Hutchison (Dumfries RC) 34:56
Simon Hood (Bodytech) 44:23

Under 17 Women
Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) 1st 15:07

Under 17 Men
Stephen Clarke (U/A) 2nd 26:24

Under 15 Girls
Danielle Beattie (Nithsdale AC) 1st 14:25
Rowane Glendinning (ADAC) 4th 17:20

Under 15 Boys
Chris Ponton (Nithsdale AC) 2nd 12:38
Jamie Paisley (Langholm Academy) 6th 13:26
Thomas Thomson (Annan Academy) 7th 13:51

Under 13 Girls
Aylish Paisley (Langholm PS) 3rd 10:24
Laura Penrice (Stewartry AC) 4th 10:43
Lauren Craig (Stewartry AC) 7th 10:57
Jacqueline Pringle (Stewartry AC) 9th 11:25
Alexandra Barbour (Nithsdale AC) 10th 11:45
Melissa McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) 11th 11:49
Sophie Perkins (Nithsdale AC) 12th 11:55
Stephanie Little (Nithsdale AC) 13th 12:44
Christina Swan (Nithsdale AC) 14th 13:06
Katie Murchie (Nithsdale AC) 15th 13:33

Under 13 Boys
Kieran Saunders (ADAC) 2nd 10:06
Cameron Muir (Stewartry AC) 5th 10:26
Ben Sinden (Stewartry AC) 6th 10:39
Alexander Craig (Stewartry AC) 7th 10:53
Daniel Gibson (Nithsdale AC) 9th 14:22

Under 11 Girls
Ellie Paisley (Langholm PS) 4th 7:10
Allyson Sloan (Brydekirk PS) 9th 7:47
Charlotte Smith (Nithsdale AC) 10th 7:54
Jenna Millar (Stewartry AC) 11th 8:04
Hannah Beattie (Nithsdale AC) 13th 8:08
Lisa Dunbar (Eaglesfield PS) 14th 8:10
Lianna Barrie (Hoddom PS) 17th 8:56
Catriona Pringle (ADAC) 18th 9:21
Amy Sharpe (Brydekirk PS) 19th 9:33
Jodie Noble (Brydekirk PS) 20th 10:03
Chloe O'Hare (Elmvale PS) 21st 11:00

Under 11 Boys
Angus Johnstone (Nithsdale AC) 3rd 6:27
Euan Penrice (Stewartry AC) 5th 6:37
Lewis Holliday (ADAC) 6th 6:39
Cameron Wadge (Kirkpatrick Fleming PS) 10th 6:51
Oliver Wagner (Hoddom PS) 13th 6:59
Callum Sinden (Stewarty AC) 15th 7:15
Matt Argo (Nithsdale AC) 16th 7:18
Benjamin Wagner (Hoddom PS) 17th 7:23
Connor Barnes (Nithsdale AC) 18th 7:26
Drew Stewart (Lockerbie PS) 19th 7:30
Harry McMenemy (Nithsdale AC) 20th 8:00
Ewan Robson (Brydekirk PS) 21st 8:06
Shaun Kevans (Lockerbie PS) 22nd 8:08
Callum Kingstree (Lochmaben PS) 23rd 8:39
Jordan McMillan (Lochmaben PS) 24th 8:39
Graham Watson (Hoddom PS) 25th 8:55
Sam Henderson (Hoddom PS) 26th 9:06
Marco De Luca (Lochmaben PS) 27th 9:20

4 To Run In Nottingham

4 Dumfries & Galloway Athletes have been picked to represent Scotland West at the UK Intercounties in Nottingham on the 7th March. They are:

• Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) GB Junior International, Under 20 Scottish XC Champion and West District XC Champion
• David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) West District and Scottish Under 17 XC Bronze-Medallist
• Kyle McLellan (Nithsdale AC) 5th place Under 17 West Districts and 6th place Under 17 National XC.
• Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) Scottish Under 15 XC Champion and West District Under 15 Silver-Medallist

Yaes Wins CE Bronze

Scottish Indoor Combined Events Champs - 22/02/09 Kelvin Hall
Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC) finished 3rd in the Under 17 Girls Pentathlon with a new PB score.

The day started well with a 2nd place in the 60m Hurdles in 9.24, 0.06 off her PB. She then jumped 1.48m in the High Jump, a new season's best and 5cm off her PB. She was 6th overall in this event. Then it came to Kirsty's specialist event, the Shot. Here she demolished the rest of the field with a her 2nd furthest throw ever with 12.23m. The closest to this was 8.96m! Next up was the Long Jump. Kirsty was 4th but might have been disappointed with her 4.63m. This left the 800m, Kirsty's weakest event. Here, Kirsty was delighted to get well under 3 minutes in 2:49.88, a new SB and reasonably close to her PB. Kirsty was rewarded for her consistency with a bronze medal and new PB of 3061. She was 2nd Scot.

Masters Indoor Championships

National Masters Champs 21/02/09 Kelvin Hall
Alan Crawford (Nithsdale AC)
60m 5th M40/M45 7.87

James Sloan (ADAC)
60m 3rd M65 9.33
Shot 2nd M65 10.76
High Jump 1st M65 1.29

John Birkett (ADAC)
Shot 2nd M50 9.39

Scottish XC Champs

Nicola Hood and Joanna Muir were Dumfries & Galloway's 2 winners at the Scottish National XC Championships in Falkirk.

Under 13 Boys
Winning Time: Jake Kerr (Edinburgh AC) 11:59

Under 13 Girls
Melissa McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) ran well although found some of the hills a bit tough. She was 81st in a large field, clocking 16:45.

Winning Time: Florie McLeish (Preston Harriers) 13:14

Under 15 Boys
Winning Time: Craig Wellcoat (Law & District) 12:49

Under 15 Girls
Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) ran fantastically to finish 1st in the Under 15 Girls race. She held off the challenges of Rachael Dunn (Edinburgh AC) and Emma Dunnett (Caithness AAC) to win her first national XC title. Also in this race was Maili MacKenzie and Danielle Beattie of Nithsdale AC. They finished 37th (16:57) and 66th (17:58) respectively.

Winning Time: Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) 14:58

Under 20/Under 17 Women
In a repeat of last year, Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) was beaten by teammate Beth Potter. However, Nicola was 1st Under 20 home and therefore wins the national Under 20 title. Potter finished 8 seconds clear in 15:59 with Nicola finishing in 16:07. Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) also ran, finishing 58th in 20:53. She was 36th Under 17.

Winning Time: Beth Potter (VP-Glasgow) 15:59

Under 17 Men
David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) managed to make the transition from Under 15 to Under 17 with a superb bronze medal. He was not match for runaway winner Callum Hawkins (Kilbarchan AAC) but finished 10 seconds clear of 3rd place in 22:55. Kyle McLellan (Nithsdale AC) also produced a good run to finish 6th (23:11). Both boys took a notable scalp in the shape of Lachlan Oates (Shettleston Harriers), West District silver-medallist. Kyle overtook Oates with very little distance remaining, thanks to his demon sprint finish. Twin Ronan also had a good run, finishing in 21st (24:43). Jack Hastings (Nithsdale AC) was 53rd (27:24). Unfortunately, the boys just missed out on a team medal, finishing 4th, just 9 points adrift of 3rd.

Winning Time: Callum Hawkins (Kilbarchan AAC) 22:09

Senior Women
Winning Time: Freya Murray (Edinburgh AC) 27:24

Under 20 Men
Winning Time: Derek Hawkins (Kilbarchan AAC) 24:47

Senior Men
Willie Mackintosh (Nithsdale AC) didn't disappoint his waiting fans. He finished 399th in 1:01.35 but the spectators were just grateful to be in the prescence of a true legend. lol.

Winning Time: Al Hay (Central AC) 37:14

Scottish XC Championships PREVIEW

Scottish XC Championships - 21/02/09 Falkirk
Under 13 Girls
Melissa McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) is D & G's only representative and will look to build on her performances at the West Districts and Cumbria League.

Under 15 Girls
Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) is one of the pre-race favourites after her dominant win at the Scottish Schools Indoors. She will face stiff opposition in the form of Sarah Cassells (Ayr Seaforth), Emma Dunnett (Caithness AAC), Louisa Stewart (Dundee HH), Halina Rees (Fife), Alice Haining (Gala) and Kathryn Pennel (Pitreavie AAC). Also running are Nithsdale's Danielle Beattie and Maili MacKenzie who will have high hopes of making the West District team for the UK Inter District Championships at Nottingham.

Under 20/Under 17 Women
Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) will start as favourite following some impressive performances and a recent GB call-up. However she won't have it all her own way with teammates Beth Potter and Josephine Moultrie and Springburn's Danielle Brown to contend with. Also running is Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) who will be looking to get over the disappointment from West Districts with a solid performance on Saturday.

Under 17 Men
This is shaping up to be an interesting race. Callum Hawkins (Kilbarchan) starts as favourite but the rivalry between David Vernon and Kyle McLellan (Nithsdale AC) could provide some shocks. Kyle bet David for the first time at the Scottish Schools Indoors and he'll be looking to do so again while David will be looking for revenge. The boys also have a strong chance of a team medal with Ronan McLellan and Jack Hastings also running.

Senior Men
Rumour has it that Nithsdale AC's Willie Mackintosh will be running in Falkirk. If proved true then the winner of the men's race is already decided. :-) All spectator support will be greatly appreciated.

Weekend Update

Scottish Under 13/Under 15 and Under 17/Under 20 Indoor Championships
14/02/09 and 15/02/09 Kelvin Hall

Under 13 and Under 15 Boys
Lewis and Dean Holliday (ADAC) made their championship debuts. Lewis competed in the 60m and 200m while Dean competed in the Shot.

Lewis ran two PBs. In the 60m he was 6th in his heat with 9.84. In the 200m he was 3rd in his heat with 33.12 but unfortunately didn't make the final.

Older brother Dean competed in the Shot. It was his first competition with the heavier Shot and he did well to finish 10th with 5.29.

Under 15 Girls
Laura Penrice (Stewartry) was very unlucky not to make the 800m B Final. She was 3rd in her heat with a new Indoor PB (2:34.05). She was just 0.11 seconds away from making the B Final.

Under 17 Women
Kirsty Yates (Stewartry) dominated the Shot as usual. Her 11.09 throw was way below her PB but was enough to give her over a metre lead iver 2nd placed Nicky McMurtrie (Whitemoss). Kirsty also finished 4th in the 60m Hurdles. After progressing through the rounds in 9.26 and 9.22, she equalled her PB of 9.18, finishing just 0.02 seconds behind 3rd place.

Also competing in the Hurdles was Fiona Paterson (Stewartry). She demolished her PB in the heats by 0.18 seconds (9.70 to 9.52). In the semis she ran 9.62, unfortunately not making the final.

Under 20 Women
Kirsty Barr (Nithsdale) won 2 medals. She won silver in her first ever 60m Hurdles race with 10.34. Her other medal came in the High Jump where she equalled her season's best of 1.60m to take bronze. Kirsty also competed in the Long Jump where she was 6th in 4.88.

Under 20 Men
Josh Crawford (Edinburgh AC) emerged victorious in the 200m. He started off with a convincing win in his heat in 23.43. In the semis he was the fastest qualifier with a new Indoor PB of 22.93. The final was an exciting affair with Josh just edging out David Clark (VP-Glasgow) 22.77 to 22.78.

East Lothian Open XC 15/02/09
Laura and Ewan Penrice (Stewartry) both finished 4th in their respective events. Laura competed in the Under 13 Girls 4000m where she was 5 seconds off 3rd place and 8 seconds of 2nd. Her time was 10:29. Ewan competed in the Under 11 Boys 1500m and was 5 seconds off 3rd in 6:21.

Scottish Schools Indoors/Grangemouth

Scottish Schools Indoors - 07/02/09 Kelvin Hall

Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC) was the star performer for D & G with 2 golds in the 60m Hurdles and Shot Put. Elsewhere there was a 1500m victory for Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC).

Under 16 Girls
After qualifying for the 1500m final comfortably, Joanna stayed with the leaders before taking off with about 400m to go. Her rivals couldn't respond and Jo finished 1st with a new PB of 4:51.2.

Fiona Paterson (Stewartry AC) ran 2 new PBs for 60m Hurdles. She ran 9.52 in the final and was unlucky to miss out on the medals, finishing 4th.

Connie Thurlow (Nithsdale AC) ran two PBs to make it into the 60m semi finals but unfortunately 8.41 wasn't good enough for a place in the final. She was also 19th in the HJ with 1.30m.

Vicky Campbell (Stewartry AC) was a disappointing 14th in the Long Jump. Her furthest jump was 4.33m.

Over 16 Girls
Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC) won 2 golds. She demolished her 60m Hurdles best with a 9.18 clocking before winning the Shot final by over a metre with 11.65m.

Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) finished 3rd in her heat with a new indoor PB of 2:33.6 for 800m. Unfortunately this wasn't good enough to make the final.

Jess Liddon (Nithsdale AC) found the going a bit tough in her first race of the season. She was 5th in her 300m heat with 50.3 and 6th in her 60m heat with 9.18



Over 16 Boys
David Vernon and Kyle McLellan (Nithsdale AC) both made the final of the 1500m where they recorded indoor PBs. Kyle was 8th in 4:20.0 and David was 9th in 4:20.5.

Ronan McLellan (Nithsdale AC) was 4th in his heat with a new PB of 2:11.4.This wasn't bad considering this was his first time indoors.

Grangemouth Stadium Indoor Open Meeting
Christopher Love (Stewartry AC) 60m 1h2 7.81
Andrew Black (Stewartry AC) 60m 4h2 8.39
Colin Black (Stewartry AC) 60m 5h2 8.46

Hood 3rd in Lisbon

Crosse Internacional Juniores - 01/02/09 Lisbon, Portugal
Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) marked her GB debut with a bronze medal against some of the best young XC runners from Portugal and Spain. Louise Small (AFD) lead the British team to a clean sweep of the top 4. Sophie Coleman (Phoenix) narrowly edged Nicola into 3rd place. Nicola's time was 15:33.

Team Leader John Nuttall was pleased with the approach of the GB & NI team.“The course wasn’t easy by any means. It was very wet and rutted and the weather was changing every ten minutes, but the athletes coped very well.” He said. “It’s a good bit of international experience for the athletes. They coped with it and acquitted themselves well and it should put them in good stead for the Inter-Counties and perhaps onwards to the World Cross Country Championships in Jordan in March.”

Scottish Senior Indoor Championships

Scottish Senior Indoor Championships - 01/02/09 Kelvin Hall
Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC) underlined her potential with a silver medal in the Shot Put. Although not quite in the same league as winner Alison Rodger (yet!), Kirsty's put of 11.65 was enough to give her a clear 2nd place. If you consider that Kirsty is only 15 this is massive achievement.

Also competing was Kirsty Barr (Nithsdale AC). She finished 4th= in the High Jump with a season's best of 1.60m. In the Long Jump she was 5th with 4.98, also a season's best though she might be slightly disappointed with her distance.

News of Nicola Hood's exploits in Lisbon to follow.

Scottish Athletics 4K XC Championships

Scottishathletics 4K XC Championships - 25/01/09 Glasgow
Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) again displayed good form ahead of her GB & NI debut next week. Freya Murray (Edinburgh AC) was a clear winner in 14:42 but Nicola did well to keep the gap between herself and Murray to under 30 seconds. Her time was 15:09. This gave her 2nd place in the Stewarts XC Grand Prix and £250 after a victory at the West Districts, 3rd Grand Prix finisher at the Edinburgh International XC and 2nd here.

Nicola has also received a grant from the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund. The Fund is dedicated to assisting aspiring young athletes who have shown by their attitude and dedication that they possess the qualities which will ensure the growth and protection of sport.

Cardiff XC Challenge

Cardiff XC Challenge (Incorporating Celtic Nations XC) - Cardiff 18/01/09
Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) and David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) both picked up individual silvers at this event.

Hood finished a bit behind winner and teammate Beth Potter, continuing her good XC form. Her time was 16:02. The Scottish counters finished 1st, 2nd, 4th and 8th which gave them a gold team medal as well.

David Vernon finished an agonizing 2 seconds off 1st place in the Under 17 Mens race. Deeside's Charlie Hulson just edged David out, 17:29 to 17:31. Those two were about 15 seconds clear of 3rd place. David was the first of the Scots counters. The rest were 10th, 11th and 13th giving them a team silver behind a strong Welsh team.

Scottish Closed Senior and East/West Indoor Championships

Scottish Closed Senior and East/West District Indoor Champs

17/01/09 and 18/01/09 - Kelvin Hall


Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC) unleashed a massive 12.54 shot put to easily win the West Under 17 Indoor title. She finished more than 2 and a half metres clear of her nearest opponent. This puts her 2nd in the UK Under 17 rankings and in the Scottish senior rankings. On the track, Kirsty narrowly missed out on a bronze medal in the 60m Hurdles. She finished just 0.02 seconds off 3rd place, marginally outside her personal best of 9.33. Her time was 9.39. In the same race Fiona Paterson (Stewartry AC) was 5th with a new PB of 9.70.


The other gold-medallist of the weekend was Vicky Campbell (Stewartry AC) in the West Under 15 Long Jump. She jumped her 2nd furthest jump ever, 5.78m, to win by 12 cm. Vicky also ran in the 60m where she was unlucky not to make the final. She was 4th in her heat in 8.71, slightly outside her PB of 8.69.


There was two medals for Jane Scott (Stewartry AC) in the Closed Senior Long Jump and Triple Jump. She won a bronze in the Long Jump with a 5.03 jump and won silver in the Triple Jump with 10.51 although was largely overshadowed by Nony Mordi (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers) breaking the Scottish Indoor record in 3 consecutive jumps.


Josh Crawford (Edinburgh AC) competed in the Closed Senior 200m. He managed to break his Indoor PB three times in succession on his way to the final (23.20, 23.10, 23.02). In the final, Josh finished 5th but he was the 1st Under 20.


Stephanie Lawrie (Nithsdale AC) was in action in the West Under 17 800m and 1500m. She started with the 1500m on Saturday and demolished her Indoor PB, finishing 4th. Her previous best of 5:55 went out the window and she battled to 5:19.64, her 2nd fastest time ever. In the 800m, she also ran an Indoor Pb of 2:36.25. This time she was 6th (this would have been good enough for 2nd in the East District race) although she was clearly tired.


Laura Penrice (Stewartry AC) ran in the West Under 15 800m. She was 2nd in her heat in 2:36.39 and was the 3rd fastest loser but unfortunately there was only 2 fastest losers to progress. Younger brother Euan (also Stewartry AC) ran in his first championships in the West Under 13 800m. He finished 5th in his heat in a time of 2:48.6 which wasn't good enough to make the final.


Also running in his first championships was Michael Kelly (Stewartry AC). He ran in the West Under 17 60m and 200m. In the 60m he was 4th in his heat with a new PB of 8.17 and in the 200m he was 4th again with a new PB of 26.10.

Hood earns GB call up

After some sterling performances, Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) has earned her 1st GB vest. She will compete at the Lisbon Junior International Cross Country Championships on the 1st February 2009. Hopefully this will be the first of many GB selections for the Scottish 3K Steeplechase record holder.

Inter District XC Championships

Inter District XC Championships - 10/01/09 Edinburgh
Senior/Junior Women
Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) again ran well, finishing 31st out of 67 finishers. She also bet Louise Damen (Winchester) who recently represented Great Britain & NI at the European XC Championships. Nicola was the 3rd Inter District runner to finish and the first from the West. She was also the first Inter District Junior.

Under 15 Girls
Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) couldn't quite defend her Inter District title but she finished a good 6th, 23 seconds behind winner Halina Rees (Fife). She was the first West District runner to finish. Her time also improved from last year.

Under 17 Men
David Vernon and Kyle McLellan (both Nithsdale AC) also ran well, finishing within 2 seconds of each other. They were 7th and 8th respectively (6th and 7th Scots). They finished as 3rd and 4th counters for the winning West District team.

Times
31 Nicola Hood 21:24 (5600m) - Winning time 19:02 Linet Masai (Kenya)
6 Joanna Muir 9:45 (2400m) - Winning time 9:22 Halina Rees (Fife)
7 David Vernon 12:45 (3600m) - Winning time 12:06 Callum Hawkins (Kilbarchan)
8 Kyle McLellan 12:47 (3600m)

Celtic Nations XC Challenge

Congratulations to Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) and David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) who have been chosen to represent Scotland in the Under 20 and Under 17 age groups respectively.

Cumbria League

Cumbria League - Carlisle 03/01/09

Under 17 Men
Kyle McLellan (Nithsdale AC) demolished the field as Nithsdale AC finished with 3 athletes in the top 4. Kyle posted an emphatic victory, winning by 1 minute and 11 seconds. Twin brother Ronan finished 3rd, missing out on second by 5 seconds. 10 seconds later, Jack Hastings finished 4th. Their times were 15:46, 17:02 and 17:12 respectively.

Under 13 Boys
Kieran Sanders (ADAC) finished in 4th (8:52), a mere 4 seconds off 3rd place.

Under 11 Boys
Angus Johnstone's (Nithsdale AC) time was 7:39, putting him in 5th place. This was 2 seconds off 4th place and only 17 seconds off 1st.

Senior Women
West District Champion Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) was in a league of her own. The 18-year-old ran away from the field to easily win. Like Kyle, this was an emphatic victory; she finished just over 2 minutes clear of the nearest competitor. Her time was 31:03.

Under 15 Girls
Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) was in good form, beating Cumbrian Champion Matilda Lowther (Eden Runners) by 15 seconds. This race was good preparation in the build up to her Interdistrict title defence.

Under 13 Girls
Jacqueline Pringle began 2009 with a closely-fought 3rd place. Her time was 9:14 which was the same as 4th placed Tania Wilson (Ellenborough). She was 6 seconds behind 2nd place but quite a bit behind winner Abbie Hetherington (Carlisle Aspatria) who was in imperious form (7:47). Melissa McCrindle (Nithsdale AC) finished in 6th place. Her time was 9:52.

SAIL Match 2 and Glasgow Athletics Open Meeting

SAIL Match 2 - 4/1/09 Kelvin Hall
Josh Crawford (Edinburgh AC) Under 20 Men
60m 2 7.34 (PB), 200m 1 23.2

Katy Brown (Stewartry AC) Under 17 Women
800m 1 2:36.7

Fiona Paterson (Stewartry AC) Under 17 Women
60m Hurdles 2 9.87 (PB)

Kirsty Yates (Stewartry AC) Under 17 Women
200m 4 28.4, Shot 1 10.48

Glasgow Athletics Open Meeting - 3/1/09 Kelvin Hall
Kirsty Barr (VP-Glasgow/Nithsdale AC)
60m 8.31 (PB), High Jump 1.60

Intercounties Selection

5 D & G athletes were selected to represent West District. They were:

• Joanna Muir (Stewartry AC) Under 15 Girls - Defending Champion and West District Silver-Medallist
• Katy Brown (Stewartry AC) Under 15 Girls - 8th at West Districts
• David Vernon (Nithsdale AC) Under 17 Men - West District Bronze-Medallist
• Kyle McLellan (Nithsdale AC) Under 17 Men - 5th at West Districts
• Nicola Hood (VP-Glasgow) Senior/Junior Women - West District Champion